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SCU Expands Guaranteed Admission Agreements for Calif. Community College Students
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 28, 2024 — Santa Clara University has expanded its agreements with 43 community colleges, ensuring that students from participating schools who meet certain criteria are guaranteed transfer admission to Santa Clara’s schools of business, engineering, and arts and sciences.
The expanded Transfer Admission Agreements represent a promise that students from the participating community colleges who have taken certain required coursework and attain a GPA of 3.3 or higher will be accepted for most majors offered by the three undergraduate schools at Santa Clara. Previously, the agreements ensured admission to SCU’s College of Arts and Sciences only.
“Many community college students are daunted by the complex and nuanced process of transferring to a four-year institution,” said Eva Blanco Masias, vice president for enrollment management. “This program provides a clear and attainable path to pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Santa Clara, with all the benefits of our private education including study abroad, fellowship, and internship opportunities; and access to our accelerated graduate programs.”
Easing pathways for community college students to transfer to Santa Clara University is a priority spelled out in the University’s current strategic plan, Impact 2030. It also is the impetus behind University programs such as the Silicon Valley Power Sustainable Futures Program and Transfer Scholarships launched in 2021. Increasing community college transfers is also a priority for the state of California, which created new pathways to UC schools, and for higher-education groups such as California Community Colleges and Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, both of which participate in the Associate Degree for Transfer program.
“Santa Clara University works hard to accommodate our transfer students, including a generous credit-transfer policy, ” said A.J. Howell-Williams, assistant dean in Santa Clara’s Office of Undergraduate Admission. “We are also proud that our transfer students graduate just as successfully as their peers who started at SCU right out of high school.”
Paying for SCU
Santa Clara strives to work with transfer students to ensure they can afford to attend the University. TAA students are eligible to receive Transfer Scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 per academic year. TAA transfer students also may be considered for other need-based aid including Cal Grant, Federal Work Study, grants, and loans. The TAA does not guarantee financial aid, therefore completion of the College Scholarship Search (CSS) Profile and submission of the FAFSA aid form is required for maximum aid consideration—and both should be completed at the time of applying.
More Information and How to Apply for TAA
Learn more by attending the TAA and Transfer Admission session at Santa Clara’s Open House on Saturday, Oct. 19. More information on the courses, requirements, and schools in the program, as well as how to apply, are on SCU’s TAA website.
About Santa Clara University
Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley—the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University’s stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís. Ranked among the top 15 percent of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. For more information see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Communications | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5122